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Breakdown of Browser Stats Shows Chrome Picking Up Speed

When Google launched Chrome back in December 2008, they had big ideas about the new browser’s popularity, expecting it to topple both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It took some time, but according to StatCounter, Chrome has officially snagged 20% of the browser marketshare. Conversely, they also report that Internet Explorer dipped to nearly 50% for the first time.

According to its market share data report for the month of June 2010, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer led with 53.7 percent, Firefox had 21.7 percent and Chrome 13.1 percent. Apple Inc’s Safari 7.5 percent and Norway’s Opera 1.7 percent.

StatCounter, which is based Ireland, states that it’s statistics are based on data collected from a sample base of more than 15 billion page views per month from over than 3 million websites. Net Applications, a preferred browser statistics source, estimates that Google’s share has not increased quite as much.

Though the reports conflict about Chrome’s actual in-use percentage, the fact that the browser is rapidly gaining popularity is evident in either case.

The usage rankings from Geeks Are Sexy tell a different story, though: Chrome is in a solid second place with 31%, just behind Firefox, which checks in at 42%. Internet Explorer trails sadly along at 11%–a far cry from the reported StatCounter shares. This is skewed, of course, by both time (our stats cover one month, whereas StatCounter is covering an entire year) and the niche of our reader base– who are generally tech savvy and more likely to switch browsers–as compared to the general Internet audience as a whole.

If nothing else, the numbers serve as an interesting cross-section of the various types of Internet users (or citizens, as the case may be). Honestly I don’t understand how IE has anywhere near half the browser marketshare; I switched to Chrome over a year ago from Firefox, which I’d been using for… forever? I expect Chrome usage will continue to skyrocket, and perhaps next year the global average will be more similar to the sort of stats we’e seeing here at [GAS].

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People like my parents are the reason why IE is still around. They don't understand the concept of browsers. They don't realize that there are other ways of getting to the interwebz other than hitting that blue e.

People like my parents are the reason why IE is still around. They don’t understand the concept of browsers. They don’t realize that there are other ways of getting to the interwebz other than hitting that blue e.

At work, I must use IE. The IT department won't let me use anything else. I believe many companies have this same policy, so I can believe that IE remains to be the browser to beat as it is the browser for the corporate world.

And I believe the reason why the GeeksAreSexy statistics do not correspond with StatCounters is because many corporate workplaces block non-work related sites. I can only check in, at home, with Chrome, not at work with IE.

At work, I must use IE. The IT department won't let me use anything else. I believe many companies have this same policy, so I can believe that IE remains to be the browser to beat as it is the browser for the corporate world.

And I believe the reason why the GeeksAreSexy statistics do not correspond with StatCounters is because many corporate workplaces block non-work related sites. I can only check in, at home, with Chrome, not at work with IE.

It's true. When I ditched IE (with my geeky dad's help) back in high school, I started raving to my non-tech friends (which were all of them, as I was the only computer geek at school–small school; very small) about how IE was total crap compared to firefox, and they just gave me blank looks. Merit badge earned, along with the "feeling of alienation" badge.

i'm not surprised that Chrome is picking up. as they become bigger and netizens become more adavnced, they try new browsers and chrome is minimal and fast, which will attract people.
i still prefer Firefox though because it's powerful and customizable and decently fast.

as for GaS stats, i would imagine it's a combination of more advanced users and that many offices restrict browsers, as Kyle Hemker pointer out.

I switched to chrome because IE was too…. patchy with holes. I saw a video on Chromes download speed, so I decided to switch over to see what it was like. Ever since I have not turned back. I love chrome for it's simplicity and functional use.

I'm using a PC and when coming over from a mac, I went to all the bother of getting safari so i didn't have to use IE (the ultimate in crap). then chrome came out and i switched to that. never liked firefox. just think it's too much clutter, like IE. even if it IS more reliable then IE, it looks horrible and is no way near as fast and reliable as chrome.

OK – I know this is likely to start all sorts of trouble, but who can list specific reasons for switching away from Internet Explorer?

And I mean actual real reasons – not just things like "because it's retarded". Real reasons for switching.

Oh, and I'm only talking about Internet Explorer 9. If you're stuck on XP (that's another story…) and can't upgrade, then fine – use something else. But for everybody on Vista and 7 it is a lot faster than previous versions (both rendering and JavaScript), more secure, and much more standards-compliant. And in my experience, IE9 is faster than Chrome and FireFox on every single machine I've seen it on.

It's like God doesn't want me to learn Pathfinder, things like this getting emailed to me in the middle of my rules research…Where does one begin?

While I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong, your machines which I've never used operate contrary to what you claim, I've found it to be the opposite, and benchmarks back it up.

One of the biggest personal reasons that motivates me, is that Chrome and Firefox are both open source. While it's a personal preference to use as much open source software as possible, and I know not all others are motivated by the same, even if it were a performance tie (which it's not), I would choose open source over closed source.

IE9 might be making waves for IE users, but for no one else. You mention it runs java better than it previously had, which is great for the people who are stuck on IE who can figure out how to update a program, and while I can't speak for Firefox, Chrome runs on Java, and has the easiest time of any browser ever on the market when it comes to handling of Java.

I can't touch on 'standard-compliance,' because I'm not sure what you're even referring to, much less what relevance it has.

As for security, browsers account for very little in the integrity and security of your computer and personal lives, outside of phishing. Microsoft's phishing prevention numbers are so much higher purely because their market share is.

Lastly, and it should be noted, leastly, there is a stigma associated with IE, associating the product itself with those who think the lower case e on their desktop is the internet, not a program. With those who couldn't tell you what a web browser is for a million bucks with Google open right in front of them. Naturally this should not be a decision factor in deciding on your browser, but it is something to hold onto.

1) Yes, benchmarks can show that FireFox or Chrome is the fastest browser, but other benchmarks show that IE9 is. Different JavaScript and rendering engines are better/worse at different things, and a lot of the time you can trace the origin of a particular benchmark back to a browser manufacturer, who is very likely to tweak the benchmark tests in their favour. I'm not saying that this invalidates all benchmarks, only that sometimes the best way to judge a browser is how it "feels"… Does it "feel" sluggish scrolling around the page? Are there any unexpected pauses? Do movies or animations stutter? (I know you can measure how something "feels" scientifically, but it is still useful for an individual).

2) I mentioned JavaScript, not Java. If you prefer – you can imagine that I called it ECMAScript if that helps. I also didn't compare JavaScript speed to the other browsers, only to previous versions of Internet Explorer. You couldn't possibly argue that IE9 JavaScript runs much faster than IE8 and below.

3) I assumed that everbody would know what "standards compliance" meant… I meant that Internet Explorer 9 follows W3C current- and proposed-standards, and other non-W3C standards, much closer than previous versions of Internet Explorer, which makes writing cross-browser code much easier. And the relevance that it has to my original question is this: if your primary reason for switching browsers is because of standards compliance, then that may no longer be much of an issue.

4) I hope you're joking about your point on security. While it is true that now, many (if not most) attacks target Flash and PDF files, crackers will do anything to exploit a flaw in a web browser, because it's one of the most commonly used applications. That's why recent versions have added extra security features like sandboxing, DEP, ASLR etc.

So after all that, the only point you can say is "there is a stigma associated with IE", but that "this should not be a decision in deciding on your browser".

OK – I know this is likely to start all sorts of trouble, but who can list specific reasons for switching away from Internet Explorer?

And I mean actual real reasons – not just things like "because it's retarded". Real reasons for switching.

Oh, and I'm only talking about Internet Explorer 9. If you're stuck on XP (that's another story…) and can't upgrade, then fine – use something else. But for everybody on Vista and 7 it is a lot faster than previous versions (both rendering and JavaScript), more secure, and much more standards-compliant. And in my experience, IE9 is faster than Chrome and FireFox on every single machine I've seen it on.

I personally don't see the point of choosing just one browser. I use IE9 for a few things (it's got some points to it that I like), safari for some others (despite despising Apple) and Chrome for yet others. Firefox just hasn't appealed to me in some time. I think it was the need to install a plug-in every other time I changed pages.

I personally don’t see the point of choosing just one browser. I use IE9 for a few things (it’s got some points to it that I like), safari for some others (despite despising Apple) and Chrome for yet others. Firefox just hasn’t appealed to me in some time. I think it was the need to install a plug-in every other time I changed pages.

The 53.7 percent of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer must have included the part of IE based browsers like Avant brower, maxthon and so on. Apparently,chrome's market share will still keep the trend of rise.

I use Chrome because it is fast to start, and fast to bring up pages. IE is neither of those. I can use Chrome on all my computers and sync my bookmarks, themes etc between them all. There's a mac version of Chrome. IE is PC specific. I can reopen accidentally closed tabs. I can surf incognito. Java and Flash are built in. On and on it goes….

It conforms to more standards than its predecessors. Big whoop. IE conforms to them all. Hardware acceleration, who cares, if IE can do it, Firefox, Chrome and Safari could implement it – if it is a good feature they'll have it implemented in no time. Microsoft has a history of copying or buying innovation, not creating it.